Spiraling Down
by buDDyoop5
Summary: Daxen, the retired Gunslinger from the Hall of Heroes, goes on an adventure to restore the fallen Haven from the Gremlins who have taken control of the Spiral Knights peaceful ground base with his retired comrades who are also from the Hall of Heroes (Echo - Striker, Remi - Bomber etc.) ALL CHARACTERS ARE ACTUAL CHARACTERS FROM THE GAME. Mixture of adventure and romance.
1. Chapter 1

**Authors thoughts: I hope you enjoy this fan fiction. I will update this story as frequent as I can. Just know that the last chapter you see would not BE the last chapter of the story. This story would be constantly updated. Certain things of the original Spiral Knights game would be modified to fit into the story for a story sake. The main character of this story is Daxen, the gunslinger in charge of selling recipes of gunslinger stuff in the Hall of Heroes (if you ever played the game). So one more time, enjoy.**

Spiralling Down - Chapter 1

"You had one chance to save the world...and you failed. The Lord made sure no mistakes was made. But you made some, and some very grave ones. The gremlins have decided to continue on with Project R. Your leadership has lead it to success,with of course your partner Razwog. But those knights...they have stopped our domination of what they call Haven. They have upgraded their strength, technology and power. But do you think that they would be able to stop our Lord? Make sure they don't...or else your life would be over in a second, Seerus. "

"But sir, Razwog is dead." - Seerus.

"I know that. I killed him."

"But how?...The knights killed him."

You think it was the knight's luck or fate to meet up with him and stop him? It was all planned out carefully."

"So you used him? Just like that?"

"Don't ask questions! Just do as what you are told."

"Yes sir. May your reign come sooner than before."

-End of transmission-

The Hall of Heroes was a majestic place. It's grand pillars, spotlight on the different sectors of the hall. Majestic was the theme, and the theme was done. The different sectors were each managed by different categories, each with its differences in technology, theme, and power. Daxen, the gunslinger stood still, patiently waiting for any new knights to arrive. He was wearing a black pink cowboy hat and a pink poncho covered with white patterns. Business was slow now a days since the new laws was issued.

ALL ITEMS BOUGHT FROM THE HALL IS STRICTLY UNTRADEBLE

AND WOULD BE LAWFULLY BINDED TO THE CUSTOMER.

The new rule stank. It made life so much harder for everybody. Daxen thought back of…of…of, a thought struck him again for the 100th time. He couldn't remember his past. The only thing he could remember was the memory of him opening his eyes to Kozma, the Quartermaster. He was severely injured, but she nursed him back to health. She told him that he would be physically fine, but his memories were gone, as he was diagnosed with amnesia. Spiral HQ couldn't let him join back the field of course, after his incident. So they ironically decided to make him a 'Hero', and work in the Hall of Heroes. In fact, all those working in that hell hole was deemed unfit for duty by Spiral HQ. His job was to sell recipes of guns to other warriors. However, his recipes in guns and ponchos were almost entirely useless, but with the exception of some.

He sat down, trying to recall back the glory days of him fighting along his comrades. Overtime, he managed to recollect some memories, but they weren't the most heartwarming. He could only remember the worst. He recalled his enemies. Ruthless, powerful and came in swarms. But with the team's relentless teamwork, they pulled it through and saved Haven. To be honest, Project R was the easiest mission of all his adventures in the Clockworks. Gremlins may be the only intelligent species in the planet, but their creations have never been satisfactory. The twins were almost useless...who would put two turrets facing each other? But it was over, and now he was retired, selling his old unwanted things to whoever comes by.

"Hey Echo! I'm calling it a day," Daxen said. Echo was his best mate, a squad striker, best in his field. Like him, he too was retired, selling his recipes of swords and striking worth armour. In fact, everybody in the Hall was retired, battle hardened to the eyes.

"Okay, wait for me, I'm coming too," Echo said, putting on his Wolver armour. Shaped like a wolf head, with rectangular slits for the eye holes, the yellow helmet only looked decent with the yellow coat, and the white fur wrapping around the neck. The armour looked more like a winter jacket than actually combat worthy.

That's when the alarm went off. The constant whining ring made Daxen's head spin.

"The alarm only rings if there is an urgent emergency right?" Daxen said.

"Yes! So what is going on?!" Echo immediately asked. His eyes filled with panic. His anxiety training in Spiral HQ has long been forgotten. The other retired vendors were stricken in fear, unsure of the actions needed.

The ground was shaking, with sounds of explosions outside that Hall of Heroes. Dust and stone crumbles fell from the roof. Everybody knew the outcome if they stayed much longer. The Hall was falling apart from the shear tremors. They had to get to the lift as fast as they can, it was the fastest way out of there.

"Hurry! Get to the lift!" Lieutenant Barrus said. He was the head of the Spiral Wardens who guard the lift. He opened the lift gates, allowing the retired heroes to enter.

But there was a problem, the lift could barely fit five people and when all nine retired heroes squeezed into the squarish lift, there wasn't any available space left for Lieutenant Barrus and his loyal Spiral Wardens.

"You go on without me, I would be fine by myself,"Lieutenant Barrus lied. He stood before the crowded lift, saluted and the lift went up to Haven.

"NO!" Daxen shouted. His gloved hand reaching out. As the lift went up to the surface, the unstable cave roof finally collapsed onto the Hall of Heroes. Lieutenant Barrus and his comrades were no more.


	2. Chapter 2

Spiralling Down - Chapter 2

As the lift rose up, loud, rumbling explosions were thundering on the surface. The retired team were anticipating the chaos that was happening in Haven.

While the lift was slowly rising, Daxen glanced through the retired warriors. He has been working with them for years, but he has never seen them like the way he was.

Echo, his best friend, a squad striker. He was in his party squad for as long as he could remember during his career days. Echo was fast, swift, and his swordsmanship was top of the class.

Remi, a knight who specializes in bombing and demolition. His rounded and soft plated armour allowed him to stay in the bomb blast radius without a scratch or fracture of his bones. He had a whole backpack full of different bombs, each with its own capabilities.

Archilus, a knight who's armour protects him from all elemental damage, making him good at taking down Constructs, a mechanical species created from the Gremlins. His hooded cloak makes him look like a professional assassin.

Sylvin, a knight who's armour protects him from all shadow damage, making him the better choice to take down the enemies of the darkness. With ghostly like helmet, and armour decorated with deadly spikes, many call him Shadow Stalker. Complimenting that nickname is his superb agility and silence.

Jorin, a knight who has mastered the Spiral Knight gear. Guardian and striker mixed into one. With serious knock-back capabilities, he becomes the cover for other knights.

Izola, some say that under his helmet, is an old man. But no one knows for sure as his strength is far beyond a normal knight. A guardian is tough job, slowness and low elemental/shadow damage. But countering that is the fact that whoever gets hit first is him, and whoever does a serious smash first is him.

Zebulon, a knight who strangely wears a chameleon's head as a helmet with its dead tongue sticking out. But it is not just some other chameleon, it is the head of the Chromolist. A chameleon like creature who attacks in different styles, making it able to withstand different situations. Specialists love this armour, making them perfect for any situation.

Walkon, a knight who wears a flabby Jelly mail. Jellies are creatures of slime and annoyance, but yet able to withstand high piercing. Harvesting their goo and smelting it to armour, makes you the most vibrant knight ever, with colours from fluorescent pink to bright blue.

These were the retirees that were once great warriors. Daxen remembered the days of him fighting along side all of them. They were a great team...except Jorin, he was actually quite useless. But the more the merrier.

The lift finally reached the surface. Daxen's eyes filled with disbelief. Haven was destroyed. It was like all hell broke loose. The Garrison was littered with crumbles of buildings, dead knights were spewed on the floor. The retired warriors walked out of the lift. What happened here?

There was a severely injured knight, laid on the floor. He was coughing out blood. Daxen saw the knight and immediately kneeled beside him.

"W..We were un..unprepared," the knight coughed. "Th..there were too many of them."

"Who? Who are they?" Daxen asked.

"Crim...Crim..." the knight coughed. He wheezed and his last breath left him.

"Crim? What is Crim?" Echo asked Daxen.

"I do not know, but I do know that Haven has been attacked critically. The Garrison has been destroyed," Daxen said.

"We need to get to the Town Square, maybe the enemy would still be there," Izola said while unsheathing his Troika, a massive sledgehammer with a sharpened top.

Like the Garrison, the Town Square was torn apart. How could the enemy attack so quickly? The central fountain was lying on its sides, heaps of broken stone was crumpled beside it. The curtains of the Auction House was set ablaze. Whoever the enemies were, they were professionals. The retirees stood in awe, not believing that the peaceful Haven they took for granted is destroyed.

Suddenly, in the corner of Daxen's eyes, a nearby bush shuffled. Everybody saw the bush, and they unsheathed their weapons. Daxen held the Polaris, aiming his sight on the bush.

"Who goes there?!" Daxen shouted. The bush kept still.

Daxen charged up his Polaris, a pistol that shoots an explosive bullet over some distance. The Polaris reached its charged point, producing a slight humming sound. He was about to release the charged bullet when a sword's end was placed on his skin. Everybody was in shock of the quickness of the assailant. At the start of the sword's blade is an enemy no one had expected.

"Kozma?!" Daxen turned around, careful not to cut himself in the process.

"Daxen?!" Kozma exclaimed. She was a female Spiral Knight, in charge of the Supply Depot. "I thought you were the invaders, so I decided to stop you. I did not know you were still alive!" Kozma said.

"I thought you were dead from the attack...just to think that you still up and moving," Daxen said.

"Me? Die? Of course not. I was collecting resources from the Bazaar when I started to hear explosions all over Town Square. I saw them Daxen, I saw them. They were gremlins, no mistake with the familiar laughing. But they were special, they wore hoods like Archilus." Kozma said. "I put the elemental hood from my supply as a disguise and blended in with them. I witnessed them kill the Strangers and everybody, including Brinks. I managed to slip past them and headed towards the Town Square, that's when I saw you guys."

"So you thought we were the gremlins and decided to take all nine of us on?" Daxen said. He was impressed.

"Yap, luckily I saw your cowboy hat, otherwise you would be dead," Kozma said.

"But who are those Gremlins?" Walkon asked.

"We could go to the archives in my favourite place's and look for information about them," Sylvin suggested.

"Favourite place?" Jorin asked.

"Yes, Moorcraft Manor,"


	3. Chapter 3

Spiralling Down - Chapter 3

"Where do we find a lift down?"Kozma asked.

"Well, the only way to Moorcraft Manor is by the Arcade. We need to find the Arcade lift." Daxen said.

"Was the Arcade raided?" Echo asked.

"I don't know, I wasn't there" Kozma said.

"Let me scout ahead,"Sylvin said. He unsheathed his Nightblade, a Katana with glowing purple streaks around the sleek black blade.

His footsteps were silent as he disappeared into the Arcade cave, just North of the Town Square.

The warriors watched the dark hole of the Arcade entrance in anticipation, keeping a careful lookout for Sylvin to walk out.

Suddenly, purple streaks slashed through the air, causing whimpers and cries of death in the blackness. Sylvin was compromised, but he was fighting back professionally. It was when a sudden blast explosion echoed in the Arcade that made the waiting warriors suspect something was wrong.

They were right. A Skelly shield flew out of the Arcade and plunged itself into the ground before the warriors. It belonged to Sylvin.

"What the...?"Jorin said.

"Isn't that...? Kozma said.

"Something's wrong, Sylvin is in danger." Daxen said. He charged ahead into the Arcade, again charging up his Polaris. The others followed him, making ready their weapons.

The explosions became silence. Daxen leaned against the entrance, folding his Polaris next to his cheek. The others went into break-entry positions. Echo mouthed at Daxen. 1, 2, 3. Daxen nodded, and the entire group burst into the Arcade, their swords, bombs and guns aiming at whoever was inside. Nobody was. No enemy was in sight. The group looked puzzled, 'Where was Sylvin?"

It seemed like Sylvin was taken away by the enemy. Nobody knew their way round Moorcraft Manor except Sylvin, and without him, there was really no point in continuing on their mission. It seemed like all hope was lost just when a small whimper could be heard in a small corner of the room. Daxen turned his head and scanned the area for Sylvin.

A knight sat against the wall, clearly defeated. It wasn't Sylvin, it was someone else. Daxen recognised him immediately and quickly kneeled beside him, attempting to mend the wounds.

"Lieutenant Feron! What happened to you?!" Daxen asked.

"Dax...Daxen? Is th..that really you?" Lieutenant Feron coughed.

"Yes, it is me. You are safe me, I will get you some help," Daxen said. He signaled Kozma to come. She understood and kneeled beside Daxen.

"Are you able to help him?" Daxen asked.

"Sure! I just got the thing!" Kozma said. She reached into her mahogany waist pouch, revealing a Super Health Capsule. She handed it to Lieutenant Feron, who wolfed it down. One does not know how a Knight can eat with their helmets on, but they can. Lieutenant Feron's eyes instantly leapt up. He stood up, dusted off his armour, and picked up his Leviathan Blade. A legendary sword that only the powerful can master it. His helmet was a Spiral Sallet, a cyan rounded top, single rectangular eye slit in the middle, and a U-shape maedate smelted onto the forehead. His Azure Guardian armour was shining silver, with a grand red cape trailing behind it. He had rank and he was wearing it.

"We still need to find Sylvin, god knows where he is," Walkon said. Kozma glared at him.

"Thanks for the health capsule," Lieutenant Feron said. Kozma nodded. He walked towards the centre of the Arcade, where a bunch of monitor screens sat beside each other. He touched the screens, swiping and tapping furiously. Jorin and Walkon gave each other puzzled looks. Lieutenant Feron finally stopped.

"You found Sylvin?" Daxen asked.

"Yes, but let me say my side of the story before we go on," Lieutenant Feron paused. "There were three of us, Sullivan the trader, me, and Chief Geo Knight Wegner. We were held captives by Gremlins. Our hands were on our heads, and we knew that we going to die. A gremlin threw a knife at Sullivan, and he fell face flat onto the floor. I was next. My assigned gremlin arced back his arm, a knife readied on his arm. He released his arm, but the knife never came. All I saw was a swift purple slice, and the Gremlin's head came clean off. That's when I saw him, a Skelly armoured Knight. Even though the hooded Gremlins were fast, he was faster, and his Nightblade cut through their flesh before they could even dodge. He had cut down the Gremlins near me, but those that were near Chief Geo Knight Wegner grabbed him by the arms, and dragged him to the lift. Many others filled in the dead Gremlins, but of course the Skelly Knight expertly strike them down. The remaining Gremlins circled us, surrounding us from all sides. I picked up my sword and we both stood back to back to each other. Seconds pasts as the hooded Gremlins circled us, and they started backing out. The Skelly Knight whispered to me 'They are backing down, when I count to three, we run outside, into the open,'. The counting never came, because the main reason why the hooded Gremlins were backing away was because they wanted to get out of the blast radius. Out of nowhere, a Gremlin with goggles rolled in some sort of Mortar machine. Before the Skelly Knight and I could react, the Gremlin fired the Mortar. The blast shell exploded right below our feet. I was thrown across the hall. I landed against the wall. My vision was blurry, but I could still catch a glimpse of the unconscious Skelly Knight. His armour was severely damaged. He was dragged along the floor by the Gremlins, towards the lift with Chief Geo Knight Wegner. A Gremlin pressed a button and the whole lot went down. That was when I blacked out. After you saved me, I checked the monitors. Sylvin, the Skelly Knight is nowhere to be seen."

"But you said you found him!" Daxen shouted. Clearly becoming impatient.

"I could not find him because he is not in anywhere of the levels," Lieutenant Feron said. "There is only one explanation to this. We Spiral Knights may have explored most of what is underneath Cradle, but there are still some depths to deep to explore. We call it the Deeps. If Sylvin cannot be seen in any of the levels, then the only last explanation is that he is somewhere in the Deeps. That means trouble, there are certain dangers down there that we should not be tempering with."

"Well that's clearly exciting," Jorin sarcastically said.

"We need to find Sylvin and that Chief Geo Knight Wegner, it seems like the Gremlins want him for something important. We need to save them as soon as possible before any losses are made." Daxen said to the group.

The group nodded. They started preparing for their mission. Kozma handed out Health Capsules, vials, and vitapods to each and every Knight. They squeezed into the lift, not knowing the dangers that lay below them, that a single mistake could make them spiraling down.


	4. Chapter 4

Spiralling Down - Chapter 4

"Sire, I have successfully captured our target and Haven has been destroyed. It seems like Operation Crimson Hammer would be a tremendous success."

"You failed Seerus,"

"Impossible! Haven was torn apart! My men wiped out everything that was living. Every building has been destroyed, no one can survive that." Seerus said.

"Ten Knights have survived your attack. Your men may have our desired target and one of them, but ten is enough to stop you. Destroy them before they destroy you."

"Yes my Sire. But may I question you?"Seerus said.

"What is it?"

"How do you know all of this?" Seerus asked.

"All things have been planned out carefully. Whatever ordeals, events, they all have been planned. Deaths and losses. Their deaths and yours too."

"My death?"

-End of transmission-

Darkness overwhelmed the room. No light has ever penetrated this deep. This was underneath the underneath. Sylvin woke up. His hand massaged his temples. He had a terrible headache. Where was he? He was sitting against a wall. He was probably in a room. But where was the room? He could hear a slight booming behind the wall. It was probably a generator or an engine. Was he in a factory? Wherever he was, he needed to find Daxen. He needed to warn him what kind of danger he was facing. He tried to stand up, but his legs crumbled under him. He was stuck here. He started recalling the past events when he was in the Arcade. The hooded Gremlins were very skilled. They weren't any ordinary Gremlins. He needed to find more information about them.

The room door opened, and two hooded Gremlins walked in. The light from outside crept up Sylvin's legs. The Gremlins grabbed his arms and dragged him out of the room. Sylvin finally saw what was outside his confinement room. There were conveyor belts, with Gremlins lined up in some sort of assembly line. They fitted mechanical parts onto triangular pods. There were a few other assembly lines. But these weren't managed by Gremlins. Machines were. They seemed to be constructing robots, with all different types and colours. As Sylvin was dragged along the floor, he understood where he was. A weapon factory. What was he doing in a weapon factory? His training wasn't in the engineering field.

The hooded Gremlins dragged him to a dim room. In the darkness, he was strapped to a slanted metal table. What were they doing? It's not like he was strong enough to escape the factory. Just then, the lights came on, and a weird looking Gremlin walked in. He had a white mask, with red spirals decorated on it. Unlike other Gremlins, he had a triangular head. His armour was different too. Clearly, he was the leader. He walked towards a control panel filled with buttons and levers. He pushed a button, and beside Sylvin, another slanted metal table rose out of the ground. A knight was strapped onto it. He recognized him immediately. He was Chief Geo Knight Wegner. Stripped to the bare, Chief Geo Knight Wegner was unconscious.

"Hello friends," The Leader Gremlin said. He had a strange accent, emphasizing on the word 'friends'. "You come a long way."

"Who are you and what do you want with me?!" Sylvin shouted. He didn't want to stay any longer.

"I am Warmaster Seerus, and the delicious question is what do you want with me?" Warmaster Seerus said. "You see, you have caused me a lot of inconvenience, and I would gladly do the same to you."

Warmaster Seeus pushed another button on the dashboard. There was a rumble, and the roof above Sylvin opened up. Drills, shock nails and razors came out of the hole. Sylvin felt his heartbeat rising, but kept his composure. The torturing tools lowered onto Sylvin, inches away from his head.

"You think this little things can stop me?!" Sylvin said.

"I don't intend to 'stop' you, I intend to make you feel unbearable pain." Warmaster Seerus said. "So, how did your friends survive the fall of Haven?"

"I'm not telling you, you don't deserve it," Sylvin said.

"Oh really, well lets see whether we can get that respect," Warmaster Seerus pushed another button. The shock nail lowered onto Sylvin's head. There was a whine and a sudden lightning bolt electrocuted Sylvin. He screamed in agony as the shock nail finished its charge.

"Well, that was shocking," Sylvin painfully said. "Try harder, that was more of a heart revival than torture."

Warmaster Seerus pushed the Shock Nail activation again. Sylvin screamed in agony once more.

The charge stopped. Sylvin laid on the table, creasing a weak smile.

"So you think you are strong?" Warmaster Seerus asked. He whipped out a sledgehammer. It was grey, with rocket blasters on the back. He walked towards Sylvin, a grin hidden behind his mask. He raised his sledgehammer, "lets see about that,"

The hammer came down.


	5. Chapter 5

Spiralling Down - Chapter 5

Daxen was exhausted, they all were. Days have came, and days have gone. The group have been battling, slaughtering enemies whom they have came across in their journey. After hours and hours of traveling down into the abyss and conquering the challenges, they had finally reached the last level before Moorcraft Manor. All this was possible thanks to the help of Lieutenant Feron, whom they met in the Arcade. Their destination was the Moorcraft Manor archives, hoping they would find any information of the hooded Gremlins, who have greatly contributed to the Fall of Haven, and whoever was leading them. The Deeps was also another topic they had to research, since it was their last hope of finding Sylvin, who was defeated by the sheer numbers of the hooded Gremlins in the Arcade.

The lift hit the ground springs, and the doors opened. The group walked out, already charging up their weapons. What level were they, and what depth? Daxen scanned his surroundings. Light is quite scarce now. Luckily, there was still lighting from an occasional street lamp, but they weren't helping. The group shuffled their feet together, slowly inching deeper into the level.

"It's way too quiet, I don't like it," Remi said.

"Stay on your toes, I have not seen this kind of level before," Daxen said.

Daxen walked ahead, scouting for any nearby enemies. The rest stood in their positions, awaiting for any commands. They saw Daxen moved forward, and he abruptly stopped in his tracks, like something had caused him to halt. Daxen looked down, unsure of what to expect.

"What is it, Daxen?" Kozma said.

Daxen could not believe what he saw. A wounded Spiral Knight was crawling on the floor, and once he saw Daxen, he immediately grabbed his leg, crying for help.

"Kozma, I need your help!" Daxen shouted. He looked down at the Spiral Knight again, and he saw the fear in his eyes, the brutal injuries could be seen on his face.

"What happened to you? Who did this to you?" Daxen asked. The Spiral Knight was lying on the floor, his bashed up head resting on Daxen's arms. He coughed out blood a few times and finally replied.

"They were too strong for us...they annihilated almost all of us. Those who have survived the attack are kept prisoners in a locked room. You can find the key with the Gremlins. Please save them." The Spiral Knight paused. "But beware, do not underestimate the Gremlins, they have mechanical solders fighting for them now...and they are as ruthless as ever."

"But where is the key located?" Daxen asked, not wanting to waste time with the dying kinght. But the knight was already staring into empty space, as if lost into nowhere.

"Shit, we lost him," Daxen said, looking up to his team. Kozma gave a worried look, she herself have never been into this kind of level before, one with gloominess and despair hanging in the air. She looked around. Parts of the floor have been ripped off, like a big construction machine teared the entire metal chunk off the ground. Scrap, debris lay strewn on the floor unwanted. The Gremlins seem to be slowly, bit by bit, destroying the level. But why?

"He says that his surviving comrades are still alive, and we can still save them," Daxen announced to the team.

"That should be easy, there are ten of us," Walkon said.

"Easier said than done, they are apparently kept prisoners from the Gremlins. They could be the same dangerous hooded Gremlins who burned Haven to the ground. We have to be alert," Daxen said. "The prisoners are kept in a locked room, and according to the knight, the key is with the Gremlins. Hopefully the Gremlins are stupid enough to keep the key in the same levels."

"No surprise," Izola said.

The team walked in a single file, their eyes scanning every corner of the thick fog. They moved slowly but silent, not wanting to attract attention. But already they have, and before Jorin could make another cynical joke about the Gremlins cowardice to appear, they struck.

An axe flew out of the fog, spinning in the air. Echo slashed it in half instantly, letting the pieces to clang on the ground. Soon, many more axes were thrown, and the team's single file was breaking apart. These, of course, were Gremlin Thwacker weapons, but where were the Gremlins. The fog made them invisible, almost impossible to see unless they were close to you.

"Show yourself you cowards!" Jorin shouted, quickly lifting his shield up to block five thwack axes. Jorin was only a few meters away from the team, but he could not see them, neither could he see his enemies. And then, from out of nowhere, a Thwacker jumped up, and cut down the air, the blunt blade hitting the side of Jorin's helmet. He let out a faint scream, and unconsciously fell sideways. Walkon was unknowingly beside Jorin. He heard Jorin's cry, and headed towards the direction. He saw Jorin on the ground, a dent on his side of his helmet, and anger filled his little head. The Thwacker who hit Jorin sighted Walkon, and swinged back its axe, ready to strike once more. Walkon took out his Rigadoon, a golden plated rapier, with a golden plated winged hilt. Before the Thwacker could strike, Walkon leaped towards it, grabbed its shoulder, and pierced his Rigadoon through the Thwacker's abdomen. Its eyes bulged, as blood spurted all over Walkon's blue Jelly mail. Another Thwacker leaped at Walkon, and he hit it in the head with the hilt. The Thwacker reeled back.

Not far away, Daxen, Kozma and Echo were back to back, awaiting for oncoming enemies. Daxen and Echo charged up their weapons, while Kozma swung her Calibur in one hand, the other lifting up a shock vial from her pouch.

" Tsk, Tsk," a Gremlin hissed in the fog. Seconds passed, and without warning, it dashed towards the warriors, planting a bomb in the middle of the triangular formation, and dashed away. The warriors saw the bomb, their heartbeat raised, and jumped. Everything went slow motion. "KOZMA!" Daxen shouted. He looked back, saw the bomb bulge excessively, the top cap burst off, and the bomb exploded, a shockwave breezed through the surrounding fog. Kozma's breath was knocked out of her, and she fell onto the ground like a rag-doll. Her Shock vial fell out of her hand. Echo and Daxen kneeled down, trying to recover from the after-shock. Being retired was a disadvantage. The Demo Gremlin saw the opportunity, armed a bomb and threw it towards the pair. Echo caught the detonating bomb, and threw back. The bomb exploded right in front of the Demo's face, blood flowed out of the Gremlin's nose. Daxen recovered, stood up and switched to his Shadowtech Alchemer. He pulled the trigger instinctually and a purple orb shot through the air, collided onto another oncoming Demo's head, splitting into two separate smaller bullets before hitting two other Gremlins. All three came crashing down, obviously dead.

Izola, Archilus and the others were having a battle with the Gremlins too. Explosions, swords slashing in the air. It seemed like the waves of Gremlins never ended. Finally, the battle did. Dead bodies of Gremlins and blood sprayed all over the floor, and the fog around the area had cleared up. Daxen observed his team. The battle had taken its toll. Izola was leaning against his Troika for support, letting his hand out to Archilus, who was sitting down, rubbing his head. Remi leant on Zebulon, his arm around Zebulon's neck. Remi was limping. Finally, Walkon sat beside Jorin, slapping his helmet thinking that would be of any help.

"Kozma!" Daxen remembered. He rushed towards Kozma, who was lying on the ground, face-flat. Daxen gently turned over her body, placed his arm under her back and carefully lifted her up. He took out a health capsule from her pouch, but Echo stopped him.

"What are you doing?" Daxen asked.

"Don't. The health capsule won't help her. She couldn't react fast enough to the bomb, so once it impacted her, her body went into a state of severe shock. She is now suffering from internal after-shock and needs to rest." Echo said.

Daxen nodded and lifted Kozma onto his shoulders, hoping that she would recover soon.

"I found it!"

Daxen turned around. Standing there was Lieutenant Feron, holding up the key. It was golden, and huge. Probably meant for a large lock.

"Where was it?" Echo asked.

"It was right in the middle of the area, the fog was too thick so we could not see it," Lieutenant Feron said. He passed the key to Daxen.

"Now we just need to find the prisoners," Daxen said. Just when he said it, shouts of help echoed through the level.

"How could we not have heard that before?" Jorin said, who was surprisingly up and ready.

"Probably because there was all the explosions," Walkon replied.

The team walked (or limped for some) towards the cries of help. The voices came from a locked up cage. Ten or twenty remaining Spiral Knights were sitting or squatting down inside the cage, signs of defeat. They looked dehydrated and malnourished. They probably had been locked up for days without food or water. Their eyes leapt up when they saw Daxen and the team, holding the key to their freedom.

"Please help us!" A Spiral Knight pleaded.

"Don't worry, you are safe now, the Gremlins are dead," Daxen assured. He recognized the oversized lock, and picked at it with the oversized key. The lock clicked, and the cage doors opened, the prisoners flooding out. A Spiral Knight with a black shield badge pinned on his armour walked towards Daxen. He must have been the leader.

"Thank you for your help, oh dear fellow knight! I cannot repay you for what you have done for us! You can call me Desna," Desna said, politely extending his hand. Daxen nodded and returned back the handshake.

"May I just ask something," Daxen said.

"Sure, go ahead," Desna said.

"What kind of level is this?" Daxen asked.

"This? This is a Deconstruction zone,"


	6. Chapter 6

Spiralling Down - Chapter 6

The creature lurked behind his desk, his body barely even touching the ground. He steadied his monocle, studying the strange unconscious figure who seem to have been sent up the lift from nowhere. His little beard twitched, smelling the stranger. He inched his way closer towards him. The stranger seems to have sustained heavy injuries. Ignoring the fact that it might hurt, he bit on the stranger, attempting to awaken him from his slumber.

"Gah!" The stranger shouted.

The creature flew back behind his desk, trembling in fear. His two ears poking out to hear any movement from the awakened and slightly in pain stranger. The stranger looked around, trying to recognize his surroundings. Bookshelves, ripped paper on the floor, candles brightly lighting up the place, and a bizarre cat with a monocle and a mustache poking out of his upper lip hiding behind a desk. He immediately recognized his location. Moorcroft Manor. It was his favourite place.

"Mew...Who are you?" the monocle cat said. He creeped out of his hiding, confronting the stranger.

"Me? I am Sylvin," the stranger said. He observed himself, his armour was torn and tattered. He rubbed his forehead. His headache was becoming worse. "What about you?"

"Mew...I am the Dezk Clerk, but my real name iz Mustachio," Mustachio's eyes grinned just like his smile. "Have you been to Moorcroft Manor before?"

"Yes, but I have not seen you before...the old desk clerk was much...cuter,"

"I take the mid-night zhift,"

"Right. Has anyone, probably a group of Spiral Knights ever arrived here?"

"Mew...Zpiral Knightz...not many come down here anymore, especially during mid-night. So no, I have not seen any Zpiral Knightz,"

"Shi-" Sylvin was cut off by a booming voice down the hallway.

"YOU MAY ENTER!"

The visitors issued a thanks to the Spiral Guard stationed outside Moorcroft Manor. Sylvin turned his head to witness the visitors entering.

"Speak of the devil," Sylvin whispered. Mustachio turned back, just to see a group of knights walking in. Ahead of them, was a cowboy-looking knight.

"Sylvin?!" Daxen exclaimed.

"Hi"

"We thought you were in the Deeps,"

"We?"

"Yeap," Daxen sidestepped to show the new group of 11. Sylvin saw Lieutenant Feron, whom he was protecting from Gremlins in the Arcade, and he saw Kozma, the Spiral Quartermaster whom the group met first in the Towns Square. But who was the new guy in black?

Daxen saw Sylvin's puzzled gaze at Desna and responded.

"This is Desna. We rescued him from a prison cell in the level above,"

" A prison cell?" Sylvin inspected Desna.

"Yeap, Desna says that it was a deconstruction zone and his team was captured by Gremlins."

"So where is his team now?"

"They went back to secure Haven incase the Gremlins wanted to launch another crazy invasion on Haven again."

Desna stepped forward and shot his hand out for a shake.

"There's no need for that," Sylvin snapped.

Desna retracted his hand, as if hurt. Sylvin walked to the back of the group with Kozma tending to his needs. Healing him up and restoring him back to his full strength.

"Don't worry, he was like that when I first met him. He'll get used to you," Daxen whispered to Desna.

"Zo would anyone like to ztay overnight in the majeztic Moorcroft Manor?" Mustachio abruptly asked, trying to break the silence and hoping that he might get a promotion to the day shift. A big group like this would sure have a huge sum of money for the hotel payment.

"Guys! I don't think we would be able to stay with those things around!" Lieutenant Feron shouted, pointing to the western end of Moorcroft Manor. Everybody turned to face the west, hoping to see anything move in the darkness.

Suddenly, a hundred bright glowing purple eyes opened up., revealing themselves in the light. They looked like Mustachio, their bodies hovering over the floor and the unmistakeable sharp ears, except that they had a dark purple skin, with a mouth that seemed to be an endless purple void within the body.

"AAAAHH! BLACK KATZ!" Mustachio screamed, flying behind his desk once again.

" What the hell is a Black Ka- " Jorin was cut off when a Black Kat launched itself at him. The group instantly reacted to the situation. Another battle started.

"Sylvin and Kozma, you guys stay back and rest," Daxen said. He charged on like the others.

"Yes Ma'am," Kozma said, taking out another health capsule for Sylvin. He took the health capsule and popped it into his mouth.

"Aagh!" Daxen cried, probably bitten from a Black Kat.

Kozma turned her head around, worried for Daxen. Sylvin saw his opportunity and sneaked away. He hid behind the desk Mustachio was hiding too. Kozma turned her head back only to find Sylvin gone.

" How did I come here?" Sylvin quietly asked Mustachio.

" The lift came up and you were juzt lying on the floor unconsciouz."

Sylvin was about to ask another question when Daxen ran up to Kozma. He told her something and she immediately stood up and ran to some bookshelves.

"Everybody leave! There is too many of them!" Lieutenant Feron shouted. The group knew that even with 9 people fighting, it was still difficult to defend themselves against the sheer overrun of the Black Kats. Sylvin ran to the lift, along with the others.

The whole group was standing on the lift, but it wasn't moving.

"C'mon! Lets go!" Jorin shouted.

"We need to wait for Kozma" Daxen said. The Black Kats were approaching the lift, grinning to the ears.

"Where is she?!" Walkon asked.

"From around the corner, was Kozma. She sprinted to the lift, took a position beside Daxen as the whole group waved to the trembling Mustachio, and before a Black Kat could launch itself to the group again, the lift gates popped up and the lift descended.


	7. Chapter 7

Spiralling Down - Chapter 7

The world was rising just as fast as they were falling. Daxen looked out of the lift, retreating back into his thoughts, and yet still observing his surroundings. Gigantic gears shifted in a horizontal motion, evolving the ever changing world of Cradle. Daxen liked that part of Cradle. A world always moving, always realising that it has to be different in every way. Daxen observed his group, all tired and worn-out. He never wanted to be their undisputed leader, he never even wanted to be involved in this adventure. There was only two reasons why he chose to continue. One - Life in The Hall of Heroes was desperate and unhappening. He needed a sense of purpose in life. Before all of this, he was a depressed man, standing like a road side statue for people to admire or ignore. But now, he was a hero of sorts. And Two - Kozma. She was beautiful and cute, her baby blue armour complementing her sky blue eyes, radiating with joy. She was always optimistic and cheerful, but still intelligent at the same time. He had always admired her, even before the day she became the Quartermaster, which was a very long time ago. He was so glad that he found her still alive when he met her in the Town Square. And now, with whatever was happening, he wanted to prove himself to her, but being the leader of the group was proving too much for him. Remi's natural charm and confidence is perfect for this role, Daxen thought.

Kozma looked at Daxen. She was grateful to him for saving her. Her brain started rewinding, recalling back all the memories of her past. She remembered a memory, she was giving a health capsule to Daxen, whom got hit in the head by a Trojan. He was diagnosed with Amnesia then. But Amnesia can be recovered over time, and Kozma wondered whether Daxen could now recall his past and find out who he truly was. She crossed her eyes in concentration, but she noticed Daxen gazing at her, and she cocked her head to one side, hiding her emotions.

"Um guys, where are we heading?" Jorin asked, breaking the silence. No one responded. Everybody else were residing in their heads, oblivious to their surroundings. "Guys! Where are we heading?!" Jorin raised his voice this time. Sylvin was the first to respond back.

"We see what Kozma has in her hands," Sylvin said. At the mention of her name, Kozma realised that she was being waited on.

"Um, sorry, what is happening?' Kozma asked.

"What is that in your hands?" Sylvin asked, pointing towards the object that was in Kozma's grasp.

Kozma suddenly remembered that she was carrying something. She held up her hands and analysed the object. It was an old book. The discoloured leather cover opened up to damaged yellow pages. This book was sure to have not been cleaned for the past decade. Kozma blew off the dust, and coughed as it entered her lungs. Daxen stood beside Kozma, looking down on the book. The first page read:

"Origins of Cradle."

Daxen remembered him instructing Kozma to find a book about Cradle in Moorcroft Manor. He needed to find out about the Gremlin attackers who were responsible for the fall of Haven. Kozma's eyes furiously scanned the book, hoping to find any useful information. Her eyes suddenly locked on to a page. She was about to start reading it when the whole lift slowed down and finally stopping altogether. The lift had reached its destination. But what was the destination? Cradle was constantly changing, so that left the group to question their location. The lift gave a 'ding' and the lift doors opened. The group walked out, breathing in the new environment.

"What kind of level is this?" Echo asked. No answer came back, just as he expected. The group continued walking forward, their eyes roving around to their new environment. Everyone noticed the beauty of nature infusing itself with man made structures. Snipes, birds local to Cradle, perched on concrete walls, before taking flight with their rotary wings spinning around their plump ball-like bodies. Echo noticed concrete plates on the ground. It seemed like someone had already discovered this level before them, and intended to carve a road on the ground. Concrete structures were certainly not naturally occurring, and therefore, Daxen concluded, that someone had definitely been here. But why has such a place not been recorded in the Arcade hall? Everyone knew, that wherever they were, they have definitely not seen nor heard of this fascinating place before.

"Such a place exists, and everyone here has no knowledge of this level," Daxen thought. "Only two logical explanations can be deduced from this. One, that Gremlins were responsible for this. Two, a Spiral Knight discovered this place in a solo mission, and decided to keep it a secret, meaning treason to the Spiral Order." Daxen was impressed with his capability of formulating such conclusions, and could not help but let out a small grin.

"You alright there Daxen? You kind of zoned out for a moment," Echo asked, noticing that Daxen was smiling to himself.

"What?…Oh…yeah, I'm fine," Daxen replied to his best fried, snapping back to reality.

"Thinking of your special….uhm?" Echo said, with a tone of playfulness in his voice. His thumb jabbing towards Kozma, whom was reading a page in the old book.

"W-What? No. I was thinking of something else," Daxen retorted, his gaze fixed on Kozma.

"Uhm, sure," Echo said, unable to suppress a smirk behind the Wolver helmet.

Kozma's strong sixth sense bugged her that someone was watching her. She looked up, her eyes leaving the book, only to fix on Daxen's, who seemed to be in a daze on her. She blushed a little, feeling her blood rushing through her cheeks.

"Um guys, I think you should read this…"Kozma said, tearing her eyes away from Daxen's stare towards the group in general. Daxen snapped back from his daze, walking up to Kozma to hear what she had to say. Everybody did the same. Kozma opening her mouth to share what she had just learnt when her eyes looked up to see several comets plummeting through the sky.


End file.
